A SINGLE EXPOSURE TO CRYOTHERAPY SIGNIFICANTLY DECREASES INFLAMMATION AFTER STRENUOUS EXERCISE AND MAY ACCELERATE RECOVERY AND REDUCE EXERCISE INDUCED MUSCLE DAMAGE.

BENEFITS

There are many benefits of cryotherapy. It has been used over seas for years to treat many minor health issues, and is believed to improve the immune system and help clear up skin issues. Here are some of the more commonly found benefits of cryotherapy

• Three WBC sessions within 48 hours after damaging running exercises accelerate recovery from exercise-induced muscle damage to a greater extent than from passive modalities or far-infrared modalities.

• WBC caused a decrease in pro-inflammatory (bad) interleukins (ILs) and rise in anti-inflammatory (good) ILs. By contrast, ice application has been shown to increase proinflammatory ILs by as much as 29% (8, ref in article). In any case, whether blood flow is shunted away from muscles is slowed and physiologically results in less muscle damage and faster recovery. (Ref 49 in article).

• Norepinephrine is the only hormone that responded positively to WBC (3x/wk) and may play a role in pain relief effect. (Ref 60, in article).

Medical Conditions

• A study of rheumatoid arthritis patients reported the one variable that showed definite improvement with WBC (vs local cold treatment) was pain. Patients report less pain following WBC. (Note: This is stated clearly in discussion (the paper) but contradicted in the conclusion of the abstract.)

• Study of a small sample suggests positive effects on treatment of depressive and anxiety disorders. It is postulated/suspected that the pain relief associated with WBC and that commonly accompany emotional disorders may be responsible for the perceived benefits.